Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies fall to N.C. State and remain winless in ACC play

The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team took the floor for the first time since Dec. 22, hosting the N.C. State Wolfpack at Cassell Coliseum Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Hokies, the Wolfpack downed Tech, 68-63, and VT is now 8-5 overall and 0-3 in ACC play.

The Hokies went into halftime with a 33-29 lead. The first half was built on big runs by both teams. N.C. State jumped ahead 7-0 before the Hokies scored eight consecutive points.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, the Wolfpack had built up a 10-point lead at 29-19. The Hokies looked defeated. Then, just like that, Tech scored the final 14 points of the half to go into intermission with a 33-29 lead.

The Hokies opened up a seven-point lead before State cut it down to two points by the under-16 timeout.

True to form, the Wolfpack then took over, finishing up a 13-0 run to take a six-point lead. State would finish the sequence with an 18-2 run, and go up by nine points. The Hokies weren’t done. Virginia Tech would go on a 7-0 run and was down just one point with around five minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, the Wolfpack would close the game on a strong note and send the Hokies to their third consecutive ACC loss.

Keve Aluma led the Hokies with 18 points, while Storm Murphy added 14 points. They were the only Hokies to score in double figures. Nahiem Alleyne’s struggles continued Tuesday, as he made just two of 11 shots from the field. Dating back to Virginia Tech’s win over Maryland, Alleyne has made only 15 of his 64 attempts from the field. It’s no coincidence Tech’s struggles on offense have occurred while Alleyne is ice cold.

Next up for the Hokies is a trip to Charlottesville to face in-state rival Virginia one week from Wednesday.